The Ghost Piper of St Cyrus
St Cyrus is a village in the far South of Aberdeenshire. If you have been to St Cyrus, you have probably visited the beautiful nature reserve and beach that stretches for 3 miles along the coast. At the North end of the beach sits a cave which fills with water each day as the tide comes in, and empties again leaving enough room for the keen explorer to take a look inside.
Legend says that one day a lone blind piper and his dog were walking along St Cyrus beach and entered the cave by accident. The cave is said to stretch from the beach all the way along to below a local castle, Lauriston Castle, and the piper ventured deep inside. He soon became lost in the underground tunnels, and as he wondered for many hours trying to find his way out played the pipes to keep his spirits up. Unfortunately, the piper and his dog never found their way out and a number of years later the bleached bones of a dog and man were discovered around the cave. Ever since that day, passers-by have reported hearing the solemn echoes of pipes emanating from the cave and the distant sound of a dog barking coming from within.